


fool for you

by rhettsglasses (soltvde)



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 11:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7266655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soltvde/pseuds/rhettsglasses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhett buys temporary tattoos, and Link puts a spin on it. Or rather, puts his name on it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	fool for you

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 24-hour prompt "Temporary Tattoos" from the [Summer Ficathon 2016](https://rhinksummerficathon2k16.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> I'm really bad with titles. It's definitely not a Zayn song. (It is.)
> 
> Thank you [imaginehimandhim](http://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginehimandhim) for looking this over ♥

“Link, look.”

He didn’t really hear Rhett at first, thought that maybe he’d imagined it, too dazed from the monotonous noises of the grocery store: pop music, crying children, humming air vents. And goodness, it was hot. Normally he didn’t mind the heat, but today, with Rhett off somewhere to find some cheese, he’d gone to the freezer section just to get cooled off, closing his eyes and blocking out everything else.

“Link,” Rhett said once again, “look.”

Lazily opening his eyes, mindful of the glaring light, Link turned towards the sound of Rhett’s voice. A huge grin was plastered on his face, brighter than the lamps hanging from the ceiling, and he held something in his hand, two small pieces of paper.

“Doesn’t look like cheese to me,” Link muttered, his joke falling flat, but he didn’t care. They were on vacation, he was allowed to be unfunny.

“It’s better.” Rhett held out one piece for Link to take. “Let’s do it.”

Before Link even knew what it was he’d already secretly agreed, Rhett’s smile making his heart go mushy and ready for anything he’d suggest. He didn’t even really want to look away from Rhett’s face, but he did, only to see a tiny temporary tattoo in the shape of a heart in his hand. Not quite what he’d expected. Not that he ever knew what Rhett would have in store for him next. But that was another story.

“You serious?” Link asked, just to tease him, and put on his best bewildered face. It broke out into a smile, though, as soon as Rhett started nodding enthusiastically and saying, “yeah, man. It’ll be fun. And we’re on holiday, nobody’s gonna see ‘em, anyway.”

“Alright, alright.” Link threw his packet into the shopping cart, watched Rhett do the same, along with some pizzas from the freezer, and started pushing the cart towards the checkouts.

He’d almost forgotten about the tattoos by the time they got home and unpacked groceries, but just as he was going to take a nap Rhett sat down next to him on the couch, radiating even more heat. Link only grunted once under his breath before scooting closer, thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder, sweaty skin sticking together.

Rhett absentmindedly handed him his tattoo while reading the instructions. Link let himself fall back into the cushions of the backrest, waiting and watching Rhett’s focused gaze travel across the small piece of paper. After a short moment he suddenly jumped up and went to the kitchen.

“Where do you wanna get it, anyway?” Link asked, turning the packet around in his hand. He listened to the water running in the sink.

“Um,” Rhett’s voice came from across the room. “Haven’t thought about it. Maybe my bicep. You know, like one of those bikers or somethin’.”

“What, because you’re so tough?” Link snickered, before Rhett came back around the couch and smacked him in the face with a warm, damp washcloth.

“Hey!” Link shrieked, peeling the cloth off his face and throwing it back at Rhett, who simply caught it mid-air. Not even looking at it, the jerk, still reading the instructions. Link looked at his profile and the way the sun made the red tinge in Rhett’s hair stand out, and in a surge of affection and silliness he pushed himself up and spun around to place his knees on either side of Rhett, settling in his lap. Any complaints Rhett began to make were muffled by Link’s lips on his, and soon forgotten.

Link felt the sun burn down on his back, but he sure as heck wasn’t going to move, not when Rhett’s arm snuck around his back to pull him closer to his chest.

“So you wanna be tough, big guy?” Link asked after a moment with a satisfied smirk on his face. Rhett always managed to rile him up, and Link treasured the moments where the roles were reversed.

Rhett let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s still gonna be a heart, bo.”

Link decided to let it go. He bent over the couch to grab his lone tattoo and tore the packet open, resettling in Rhett’s lap.

“So, how does this stuff work? Wait—” he held up his hand to stop Rhett from saying anything, “just do it on me. I’ll do yours.”

Rhett worked with quiet focus, rolling up Link’s short sleeve to his shoulder and meticulously placing the tattoo face-down on his upper arm, a few inches above the crease of his elbow. He grabbed the cloth from the couch and put it on top of the piece of paper, warm and soft, pushing down gently and waiting. When he looked up he caught Link staring, and smiled his perfect smile, eyes glinting and crinkling at the corners. He stole one more quick kiss before dropping his gaze back down to the tattoo, removing the cloth and slowly peeling the paper off Link’s skin.

Link saw the black outline of a heart come to view underneath, only one tiny part of it breaking off and staying on the paper. There was a small, empty banner painted across it, and if Link was honest with himself, he thought it looked kind of cool.

Rhett seemed pleased, looking down at his work, and dabbed away at a little stray piece of ink.

“Alright, you do me now,” he said, excited like a little kid, and gave Link his tattoo, same kind. A heart and a banner. Link had trouble with placing it at first, his hands always shaky, but he got there after a little while. Same spot as his, above the joint of Rhett’s elbow. He held the cloth up with his hand, waited for as long as he thought Rhett had, eyes trailing up to his lover’s face and finding something there, something he hadn’t been able to name yet, even after thirty years. Just like Rhett had done, he gave him a kiss, threw the cloth onto the coffee table and started peeling the paper off.

Giggles threatened to build up at the thought of them running around the next few days with these things on their arms, but he willed his hand to stay still for once, and to his wonder the whole thing stayed on Rhett’s arm. Link, too, admired his work.

“Looks good,” he said, and Rhett looked down, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

As Link watched him, he got an idea; he turned around to fish for a pen in the compartment underneath the table and found a sharpie, but before he could get anywhere close to him, Rhett grasped his wrist.

“Hey, now, what’re you gonna do?” he asked with a fake stern voice. Link just grinned.

“You’ll see.”

Rhett let go of his hand with a sigh, and Link bent over to start writing each letter carefully into the space of the banner. He could feel Rhett’s stare on him.

 _Link_.

When he came back up he started chuckling for real, lips spread wide in delight at Rhett’s disbelieving face.

With his best attempt at a sultry voice he whispered, “you’re mine,” and they both broke out in a giggling fit, Link’s face scrunching up and Rhett letting his head fall back against the couch, chest vibrating underneath Link’s hands and filling the room with his voice. When they started to calm down Rhett grasped the backs of Link’s shoulders and tipped him over towards him, catching Link’s mouth with his lips in a kiss, open-mouthed and messy and so good it made Link laugh even more, never breaking contact.

One last peck and Rhett grabbed the sharpie from Link’s hands, both of them still shaky from cracking up, but he managed. _Rhett_ , he scribbled on Link’s arm, put the cap back on the pen and threw it somewhere on the couch.

They looked at each other’s arms, and there was some primal part of Link that really, really liked the idea of his name on Rhett’s skin. Except not temporary. He could see on Rhett’s face that he was thinking the same thing, and smiled.

Link put his arms around Rhett’s shoulders, placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose and buried his face in Rhett’s neck, breathing him in and closing his eyes for a moment.

Maybe they’d grow to like it.


End file.
